Neonym Analysis in the English Language for Tourism Purposes

Abstract

Languages are subject to constant change, with new lexis being just one, yet the most sensitive. Languages for specific purposes are no exception, and this is particularly true in areas that are currently undergoing rapid development, such as tourism. The aim of the research is to analyze neonyms in the English tourism language from the perspective of new lexicon-building processes. Neonyms are understood as terms in the neologistic phase of the lexical life cycle. The contribution extracts them according to their subjective time-bound definition in the field of tourism based on the use of Internet sources as corpus, which is particularly suitable for the research of new language. The paper contributes to the understanding of tourism as a field and its specific language and sheds light on recent (often unsystematic) term formation processes. It shows indirect theoretical word formation tendencies, which are also applicable when comparing word formation processes in General English as opposed to the English language for tourism purposes.

Lexical Innovation in Ecotourism Discourse: The Case of Eco(-)lodge

“…In terms of language, the specialisation of tourism discourse has long been ascertained (Gotti, 2006;Maci, 2020;Nigro, 2006), and studies have also explored the creativity of its lexical constructions (Frank, 2021;Koval et al, 2023) and suasive features (Manca, 2016) to arouse the interest of potential tourists. However, things ought to be reconsidered in the case of ecotourism communication, since its aim is not limited to the promotion of travel per se (or in order to maintain the host country's revenue flow), but it must encourage conscious behaviour in all actors involved, at all stages.…”